Senator Stephen Conroy said the sexual misconduct displayed by two
male housemates on Saturday, which led to their being removed from
the Big Brother share house, was the latest of a string of
examples of inappropriate behaviour towards female housemates.

A spokeswoman for Network Ten told theage.com.au today
that evicted housemates, known on the program as Ashley and John,
would likely appear on a special episode of Big Brother to
give their side of the incident.

But Mr Conroy said the network should promote any advertising
revenue to organisations such as the Centre Against Sexual Assault
at the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne.

"It would be obscene for Channel Ten to try to profit from alleged
criminal behaviour on Big Brother by staging a special
show to hear the alleged perpetrators' side of the incident," he
said.

"It is clear that the current format of the show promotes
alcohol-fuelled inappropriate behaviour towards women."

Mr Conroy said the reality program's remaining $275,000 prize pool
should also be donated to community organisations.

Bashing bandwagon rolls on

Mr Conroy was just one of many politicians to voice outrage today
over the incident.

Family First senator Steve Fielding said the incident, which was
viewed by people over the internet, showed that self-regulation of
the television industry was not working.

His comments come after Prime Minister John Howard today urged the
television network to initiate self-regulation and cancel the
controversial show.

Communications Minister Helen Coonan will today meet with the
Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and has asked
it to determine whether any code of conduct had been breached.

But Senator Fielding today said ACMA could do nothing but slap
networks on the wrist.

"ACMA must have the power to stop programs going to air and impose
big fines on broadcasters," he said.

Senator Fielding said the incident had overstepped the mark and the
program was legitimising such behaviour.

"This is clearly an exploitation for ratings and dollars and we
should be looking after our children," he said.

"For sure, parents should be monitoring what their kids are
watching, quite clearly parents can turn it off for their
kids."